I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fields of entomology and infectious disease. More particular, the invention relates to methods and compositions for disrupting host-targeting in mosquitoes and other insects.
II. Related Art
Insects acting as agricultural pests and disease vectors are responsible for extraordinary economic and medical impacts, respectively. Human malaria affects regions that are home to over two billion people, and cause at least one million deaths each year. The social and economic impact of the disease are staggering, with a disproportionate number of deaths coming in children aged 5 or less. And despite successes in limiting the disease in the last half of the previous century, recent trends show a resurgence in malarial infections in certain areas, and suggest a shift in modes of malarial transmission.
Currently the primary tool to prevent the spread of malaria is the use of insecticides that kill the mosquito vector. However, each of the various forms of insecticide treatment—residual house spraying, insecticide treated clothes, bedding and netting, and chemical larviciding—have drawbacks, including environmental and host toxicity, limited duration and need for insect contact. Biological larviciding can avoid toxicity issues, but takes time and is quite expensive. Chemoprophylaxis is also expensive and may have unacceptable side effects. Finally, segregating populations is expensive and in many cases (developing world countries) impractical.
Thus, while there are many different ways to attack malaria, and each have contributed substantially to limiting the spread of disease, they also each have limitations that leave room for substantial improvement.